A cut and raked crop that has been dried or otherwise prepared in a field, such as hay, straw or other agricultural material is often gathered, compressed and shaped by an agricultural baler or other similar device. There are several types of balers that are commonly used, each resulting in different types of bales. Some are rectangular and some are cylindrical of various sizes. Bales can be bound with netting, strapping, wire or twine. A bale is often dropped in the field by the baler for later retrieval, as the baling system moves through the field.
Many baler systems travel over windrows defined by the raked crop and lift the crop into a chamber. The chamber compresses and shapes the crop into one of the various sizes described above. In many baler systems, once the chamber is full, the baler system stops to allow the compressed crop in the chamber to be bound and discharged.
Alternatively, some baler systems have a chamber that can bind and discharge one bale while simultaneously beginning a second bale. These baler systems can continuously feed crop into the chamber and do not require stopping during the bind and discharge steps.
Round balers rotate gathered crop material until a sufficiently large enough cylinder-shaped “round” or “rolled” bale is formed and that bale is secured with twine or wrapping. The back of the baler swings open, allowing the bale to be discharged. Variable-chamber balers can produce bales from 48 to 72 inches in diameter and up to approximately 62 inches in width. The bales can weigh from 1,000 to 2,200 pounds, depending upon size, material, and moisture content.
Conventional crop accumulators group the bales while the baling operation is underway. When the crop accumulator is full, it is common to dump the harvested crop in the location where it is full. For example, a crop accumulator, which looks somewhat like a trailer is connected directly behind the baler and may collect and transport three round bales, allowing groupings of up to four bales at a time (counting the bale in the baler). These types of crop accumulators accumulate the bales in a sequential manner relative to the direction of travel of the baler. The crop accumulator may have a floor chain system in order to move the bale that it receives from the baler to a sequential position on the accumulator.